A Wedge Between Churches
"First, those archer scarecrows up there are the problem."
The moment he stepped into the training ground, armed high-grade scarecrows rushed him, while archer scarecrows stationed in unreachable high places rained down arrows. In this training ground where stats, skills, levels, and items were all sealed, such attacks were fatal!
You possess the Advanced Engineering skill.
Acquiring blueprint...
...
Tae-hyun didn't forget to secure the blueprint first.
If I keep this up, won't I be able to recreate the Archisus training ground exactly as it is later?
Having learned the Advanced level at the 3rd stage training ground, if he could reach the 4th or 5th stage... he could copy it perfectly!
But first, I need to figure out how to clear this.
The strategy of those who had cleared the 3rd stage was simple: hold up a shield to block the attacks raining down from above and break through before the shield shattered! Of course, that was by no means easy. One had to run along a designated, narrow path without a single mistake. A slight slip-up leading to encirclement meant instant elimination; getting hit by a stray arrow along the way meant instant elimination; even an unlucky graze while pushing through meant instant elimination... There was a reason why the number of people who had cleared it could be counted on both hands.
Hmm. If I could lure them out one by one, it wouldn't be impossible to defeat them. Is there a way?
If he could pull the scarecrows over one by one, defeating them would be easy. The problem was that there was no way to lure them. They wouldn't budge no matter what taunt he used, and the moment he stepped foot inside the training ground, every single one of them nearby would rush him.
Would they come if I threw my weapon? But if I lose my weapon, that defeats the whole purpose...
Since the training ground wouldn't replace a lost weapon, most strategies were heavily restricted. Tae-hyun stared up at the archer scarecrows shooting arrows from above.
Should I try using their arrows?
Without stepping into the training ground, Tae-hyun slyly extended his arm past the entrance. At that moment...
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The archer scarecrows began firing their bows.
Thud! Thwack!
It works!
Tae-hyun quickly pulled his arm back. Arrows landed precisely where his arm had been just a second ago, shattering as they hit the floor.
But I can't use them if they break. Hmm...
After some thought, Tae-hyun came up with a crazy idea. What if he caught the arrows? It was an idea that would make other players call him a lunatic! But Tae-hyun had done the math.
They fly at the exact same tempo and speed, so if I can just get the timing down, I should be able to do it, right?
"How long do we have to wait here?"
"He'll be out soon."
"When is 'soon'?"
"When Tae-hyun gets eliminated?"
"But... is Kim Tae-hyun really the type to get eliminated easily?"
"..."
Choi Sang-yun suddenly realized Cain was right. Come to think of it, Tae-hyun was not the type to fail easily at something like this.
This bastard...
"Should I go get some training somewhere else while we wait?"
Cain said, heading toward the entrance of a nearby temple training ground. Immediate backlash followed.
"Begone, demon! What trickery is this?!"
"..."
Snatch!
Caught it!
You have successfully caught an arrow!
An additional reward will be granted upon successfully clearing the training ground.
After just a few attempts, Tae-hyun succeeded in catching a flying arrow! If Lee Da-bi had seen this, she would have beaten the ground in sheer regret, crying, I should have recorded this and uploaded it...! It was that spectacular of a scene.
One, two...
Having gotten the hang of it, Tae-hyun began gathering the arrows one by one. Once he felt he had enough, he threw an arrow and struck a nearby scarecrow.
Thud! Creak, creak—
Sure enough, the scarecrow began to approach! Realizing his calculations were correct, Tae-hyun clenched his fists. If he proceeded like this, he could defeat them all. Throw an arrow to lure them, and beat them to a pulp when they got close...
Thud, thud, thud!
For Tae-hyun, who had already chewed up and spat out the one-versus-many battles in stages 1 and 2 through sheer control, this was child's play.
I've cleared them all... but can I not defeat those archer scarecrows?
Having knocked down all the scarecrows on the ground, Tae-hyun felt the urge to take down the archer scarecrows up above as well. Of course, he was already in a position to easily pass the stage, but... it was in Tae-hyun's nature to try everything he possibly could!
There was only one way to reach the archer scarecrows up there.
Patter, patter, patter—
Tae-hyun began sprinting toward the archers' platform. Arrows flew rapidly in response.
Thud! Thwack!
Naturally, not a single arrow hit him. Tae-hyun quickly pressed himself against the wall. Deprived of a proper angle, the archers stopped firing.
Cling—
The method Tae-hyun chose was none other than... climbing.
Ugh. It's incredibly tough without stats.
He had to find uneven crevices in the wall to wedge his fingers in and pull himself up! If the Phytos Church players who had cleared this training ground saw this, they would have facepalmed.
If you're done, just leave! What are you doing up there?!
Tae-hyun tenaciously scaled the wall. After about an hour, he finally succeeded in reaching the top.
Bam!
The moment he climbed up, Tae-hyun swiftly knocked down an archer scarecrow and snatched its bow. The neighboring archer scarecrow was already aiming directly at him.
Whoosh!
"Hmm. As expected, bows don't suit me."
He had played an archer character named HanXran in another game and handled it well, but for some reason, whenever he shot a bow directly, the trajectory was subtly off. Tae-hyun grabbed an arrow and threw it. This was much more accurate.
Thud! Thwack, thwack!
It was a crude method, but at close range, it was highly effective. The neighboring archer scarecrow was struck by the thrown arrows and tumbled off the platform.
You have defeated all the scarecrows. You have cleared the 3rd stage of the training ground.
You have received a skill as a reward.
You are the first to defeat all the scarecrows. You receive an additional reward.
You have acquired the Title: Phytos's Outstanding Warrior.
Uh? Is it really okay for me to take this?
It was a title that made him wonder if he should even accept it! Tae-hyun hesitated. He had snuck in here using his Speech skill; surely he wouldn't get caught later, right? Since there was no way to decline, Tae-hyun accepted it for now.
You have defeated the archer scarecrows. A hidden wall has opened.
You have obtained [Item].
You have obtained [Item].
"..."
An adventurer has cleared the 4th stage of the Phytos Training Ground!
The reputation of the Phytos Church increases.
The influence of the Phytos Church increases.
"Huh????"
"Someone cleared it?!"
The Phytos Church players wandering around the temple were shocked. Someone cleared the 4th stage?
The Phytos Church NPCs shouted in joy.
"An outstanding talent has appeared in our church! All of you must strive to become like this talent in the future."
"Rejoice, everyone! If they pass the 5th stage of the training ground, a new Great Warrior of our church will emerge!"
"????"
"What? Seriously?"
Tae-hyun's waiting companions were startled by the players' reactions.
"This..."
"It's Kim Tae-hyun, right?"
"It has to be..."
Others were still repeatedly challenging stages 1 and 2, so if someone had cleared all the way to stage 4—which no one had cleared yet—there was only one possible culprit.
"Hey. Let's go."
"...?!"
Everyone gasped as Tae-hyun walked out of the training ground.
"So it really was you who cleared it?!"
"Yeah. But I left without doing stage 5."
"Why? Ah, was the difficulty too..."
"No, I think I could've managed the difficulty with the extra items I got, but..."
"...?"
Was there such a thing as extra items in the Phytos Church training ground quests? Was it because it was stage 4? Lee Da-bi tilted her head. This was completely new information to her.
"But I felt like clearing stage 5 would be a bit dangerous."
After passing stage 3 and clearing stage 4 using the extra equipment he received along with his control, a message window had popped up for Tae-hyun.
Amazing! You have cleared the 4th stage of the Phytos Training Ground. Having defeated the highest-grade scarecrows, you are qualified to become [Candidate].
If you challenge the 5th stage of the training ground and succeed, you can obtain the position of [Great Warrior]. The Pope of the Church will personally grant you the honor of...
...Whoa, this is a bit dangerous! Tae-hyun had quickly assessed the situation and given up. If he cleared stage 5, trumpets might blare before he could even escape, and the church NPCs would swarm him, shouting, Oh! The Great Warrior of the Church has appeared! Of course, Tae-hyun knew very well that he wouldn't actually change classes to a Great Warrior.
The system will probably block it again anyway...
In the end, Tae-hyun had left after clearing only up to stage 4. Even that alone was shocking enough to the Phytos Church players!
"Hey, how did they clear stage 4? Swords don't even work on them."
"Is there some hidden weak point?"
"Who on earth cleared it?? I wish they'd share some info..."
Tae-hyun's group slowly distanced themselves from the crowd.
"Are we going to handle the church issue now?"
"Before we go, I should visit the other churches' training grounds..."
"..."
An adventurer has cleared the 4th stage of the Tyran Training Ground!
The reputation of the Tyran Church increases.
The influence of the Tyran Church increases.
An adventurer has cleared the 4th stage of the Yata Training Ground!
The reputation of the Yata Church increases.
The influence of the Yata Church increases.
Except for the Demer Church, which had no training ground building, Tae-hyun quickly made his rounds and cleared up to stage 4 in all of them. A monumental achievement committed just to obtain a single skill!
Carbanog is highly satisfied.
If the fact that you infiltrated the training grounds by impersonating a believer is revealed to each church, the religious factions may become extremely enraged.
"Alright. Now let's go deal with those church bastards!"
"But what are you planning to do? Do you have a plan in mind?"
"Of course I do. What else am I best at?"
"...?"
"Driving a wedge between them."
Forgery
You can forge the appearance and status window of equipment. As the skill level increases, the duration and range of possible forgery expand.
And Speech.
Tae-hyun planned to use these two to deal with the churches.
Tae-hyun had cleared the training grounds simply to obtain even a few more combat skills that he lacked. However, others had no idea about the circumstances behind it. As a result...
Those who started late were inevitably at a disadvantage in terms of equipment, level, and stats compared to those who started early. In an instant, the community boards caught fire. While other rankers bragged about their levels, classes, great gear, and skills, a mysterious, highly skilled player had suddenly appeared! The fact that the training grounds cleared by this player required pure control made people even more excited.